Number of the Week

The number in millions of cell phones expected to be thrown away per year by 2005, according to Inform, an environmental research organization. The discarded phones will account annually for 65,000 tons of trash, including toxins such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. The report failed to note, however, that cell phones in 2005 will be capable of blow drying, pruning shrubs, and baking ham.